The Entire Time
by lea michele
Summary: Quartie. 'I wasn't aware we weren't, yo.'


friendship between artie and Quinn

Quinn stood in the hallway in a state of shock. The only things on her body that could move were her eyelids, which blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay, and her fingers, which twitched to do something to get her boyfriend – ex-boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, she reminded herself – back. The hallways cleared, and she was still standing there, alone, stunned. This was how Artie found her.

He was wheeling himself to the doors on the other side of the hallway, because Brittany had said she was going to Santana's house that afternoon and he had a geometry test the next day that he needed to study for. He was planning on just wheeling out and calling his dad, but then he saw Quinn. She looked so…crushed. He had only seen her like this a few times, and it tugged at his heart like it always did. There was something about her that made her seem so vulnerable. Maybe it was how she was dressed, or how her hair was, or maybe it was just her expression, but he knew he couldn't just leave her there. Slowly, he wheeled over to her, gently touching her hand.

"Quinn?" He asked softly. She jumped at his touch, as if he had startled her out of a daydream.

"Oh. Hi, Artie." She said quietly, looking down at him. His eyes were soft and blue, just like they had been since she had first met him. He was looking up at her with concern and she abruptly had a flashback to the days when they were best friends, back in elementary and middle school. Suddenly, she couldn't remember why they had stopped, and momentarily forgot why she was standing in the hallway.

"Is everything okay?" She was looking at him like she was trying to remember something, which only made him more worried. Was she in shock over something? Had she hit her head? Artie quickly tried to remember the little he had learned about treating shock freshman year in health, but all he remembered was that Quinn was in his class, and he had spent most of his time staring at her.

"Not really." Quinn said softly. She didn't feel like lying to Artie, for some reason. Staring at his blue (they were so blue, how had she forgotten?) eyes, she just wanted to sink next to him and cry into his shoulder like she used to do.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Artie asked gently, his thumb rubbing across her wrist in a soothing manner. She hesitated, unsure of whether or not talking to someone who was dating the best friend of the person who just stole her boyfriend right from under her nose was alright, but another look at his genuinely concerned expression convinced her. She slowly nodded, and Artie gave her a soft smile, patting his lap.

"I'll give you a ride." The familiar sentence brought a smile to her face, despite the fact she felt ten seconds away from crying. Gingerly, she sat down on his lap, and she put one arm around his shoulders, immediately falling into the familiar position that they had set up long ago, when he first got the wheelchair. He wheeled her to the first place he thought of – the Glee room. Opening the door, he wheeled them inside and then carried her over to a chair. She slid off of his lap and into a chair across from him. He didn't say anything, just watched her carefully and waited for Quinn to start speaking.

"I cheated on Sam with Finn. I told him I saved his life, but I was lying. And then Sam just told me that he was dating Santana now." Quinn started, blurting it out. She stared at her hands in her lap, afraid to look up at Artie and see the judging look in her old best friend's eyes. "And logically, I shouldn't be so upset, because I kind of deserved it, but I am."

"Hey," Artie started, his tone surprisingly gentle and completely contrasting what Quinn thought it would sound like, "no one deserves that." She glanced up at saw him giving her a gentle smile and a half-shrug. "Trust me." Maybe it was because it had been a long day, or the fact that she had been dressing like a fifth-grader, or maybe it was just because she was staring into those truthful eyes of her old best friend, but Quinn leaned forward quickly, wrapping her arms around Artie's neck and burying her face into his shoulder. Even though she couldn't see it, Artie smiled slightly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"Why aren't we friends anymore?" Quinn mumbled.

"I wasn't aware we had stopped, yo." Quinn pulled back slightly, a half-amused smile on her face.

"You know what I mean. We haven't talked since…freshman year."

"You joined the Cheerios and I joined the AV club, and we just kind of drifted, Quinn."

"I'm sorry." Quinn said quietly, glancing down. Artie lifted her chin with two fingers, giving her another gentle smile.

"Don't apologize. It's okay, Q. I completely understand."

"You're the best." Quinn murmured.

"I know." Artie joked, and Quinn let out a quiet laugh.

"I missed you, Artie." She admitted, giving him a sheepish smile. He laughed.

"I've been right here the entire time."

"I know, I know, I just-"

"I know, Q. I missed you too." Artie said gently, and Quinn smiled. She had lost her boyfriend but gained back her best friend, and maybe that was a good enough tradeoff for her.


End file.
